The Big Noubowski Part Deux

It's finished! The Big Noubowski watercolor I did has been through some processing, and I am finished with it! 

*puts a fork in it*

This is a follow up post to my previous post The Big Noubwoski. As we all know it was an assignment for my Design History class at Robert Morris University. I forced myself to sit down one day, and in 6 hours I went from rough to finished watercolor. I haven't worked in watercolors in years so this was a personal challenge that I was willing to take on. 

I'm quite impressed with the results, and learned quite a bit. I look forward to working with watercolors again. I think next time I'll spend more time rendering. 

However, after I finished the project I took her through the Photoshops and after applying some variant filters and textures and touching some things up I am now finished with it. 

Enjoy! 

As always there is more to come...

~3

The Big NouBowski

For my Design History mid-term we are making Art Nouveau movie posters, and as you may have guessed from the title I'm choosing The Big Lebowski. It was either Lebowski or Jurassic Park, and seeing as I did dinosaurs for the storybook (which I'm still working on) I decided to abide by the Dude. 

I'm very excited about this project because I've always wanted to do an Art Nouveau style piece. I've always loved Alphonse Mucha's work even when I wasn't privy to the history of art. 

I'm thinking I'm going to have to roll with Illustrator on this one because of all the fine line work. Yet I think I'm going to dip into Photoshop for some coloring. Again, I'm very excited. 

Here's a rough sketch I did tonight at Brewhaus over a beer after I got out of class. 

As always there is more to come...

~3

More Bears And Donuts

Here's the progress I've made tonight. 

I'm slowly getting a firmer grasp on Illustrator, but I can't keep my eyes open anymore. 

I just hope I can make it into school to get this printed, photographed, and photoshop'd before class. 

As always there is more to come...

~3

Bears In Progress

As I've mentioned in past posts I've been swamped with homework and projects which is why I've been so lax on posts lately. So, I've just decided to group it all into Work In Progress posts, and then do final project posts once they are finished. 

So, these Work In Progress posts won't have much other than a quick blurb and a photo or two of what I'm doing. 

Now on with the post!

So, yeah bears. Here's a screen shot of a project I'm working on for my Advanced Theory class. We had to create a fake food company that would utilize a Chinese takeout box creatively. 

I originally had three ideas; a to-go tea place called Go-Tea, which would feature different kinds of facial hair on it's loose tea go boxes, a Tapas place called For The Table, and the winner, a donut place called Bearclaws. 

Then we had to design a logo, and a design for the package. Here's where I'm at right now. I still have to throw down some shapes and color it, then print it out and mock-up three different sized-print ads for it. 

In theory, the box will be a bear's head, and one would eat donut holes from it. All I have colored is the logo right now.


As always there is more to come...

~3

Ordinary Heroes

I've been wanting to post about this for awhile, but I refused to show any work during the process because it was a secret project. Then, I became very busy with work, and didn't have time. Well, I have a few minutes while I'm doing some other work so, without further ado may I present to you one of the most amazing projects I've ever been a part of. 

Again, I apologize for the graphic heavy page. Please bear with me. *GROWL*

The Audrey Lagos Superhero Experience! 

Allow me to set the scene.... 

It was a dark and stormy night, and while I was enjoying a cup of black coffee and a slice of dark cherry pie my phone rang. 

"Who is this? Can't you see I'm trying to enjoy this pie?" I wailed into the receiver.

"Blake? This is Robbie."

His voiced cracked back hard enough to leave the thunder in the shadows.

"I have a favor to ask you, " he requested.

"What's the haps, Rob?" I shot back without thinking. 

Robbie then spent the next twenty minutes telling me about this beautiful and strong woman with the allure of a bright moon low on the horizon over a misting lake in the woods. She's the kind of dame a guy would kill for, and probably has. Apparently, she got into a scuffle with cancer, and has been trudging through it with the positivity of a Buddhist monk and the willpower of a Spartan warrior. 

"I want to do something amazing for her, Blake." His voice was stern and sincere. I could tell this was going to be bigger than Chinatown. 

"You got it, Rob. I'm on the case!" I exclaimed and slammed the phone down. 

I quickly had to call him back because I never got the details on the case. 

Robbie wanted me to recreate Audrey as a superhero on a comic book cover. Robbie and Audrey both love superheros and comics, and he wanted to present her with something personal that came from his heart and soul and expressed all the memories and appreciations he has for her presence in this world. 

Amongst working two jobs, going to school full-time and the slew of other projects I had going on, I made this top priority. I started with sketches to be sent back to Robbie for his approval before moving onto the next phase of the plan. I had decided that I would be digitally painting this one. I've learned enough in Photoshop from classes, and I had been using my Wacom drawing tablet more. So, I felt it was the best opportunity to prove myself in this medium. 

Preliminary sketches

Final sketch

After the sketch was approved I moved onto preliminary coloring, which was then approved by Robbie as well. 

Color sketches

The next step was photographing the sketch, and in Photoshop, on a new layer, drawing over the sketch with the Wacom tablet. After that came the color processing. Then I laid out the background design and assets. After that I applied textures to help meld everything together. 

Phone captures of the digital processing

I put about 20-25 hours of work into this project, and I'm very proud of it. I look forward to working more in this medium, and pushing it further and further. Every time I complete a piece in a medium I tend to learn more about how the medium works, and in turn enhance my work. 

I printed out the piece at 11" x 18" and shipped it off to Robbie to present to Audrey. 

Here's the finished the product...

...and here's Robbie presenting it to her. She loved it. 

Robbie and Audrey

"The comic book cover was amazing. I really love it so much. I cried at first sight. Really from the bottom of my heart thank you thank you thank you." ~ Audrey Lagos

I'm honored and proud to be a part of this memory. I will never forget it, and I will be donating a portion of the proceeds from this project to the St. Baldrick's Foundation in Audrey's name. This is the organization her and her friends raised money for and then shaved their heads in solidarity for Audrey. That's quite an amazing group of friends and family she has. Again, I'm very proud to be a part of this. 

The world loves you, Audrey. You have the strength to get through any challenge before you. That cancer doesn't stand a chance. 

Donate to St. Baldrick's Foundation

St. Baldrick's Foundation Webpage 

St. Baldrick's Foundation Facebook Page 

St. Baldrick's Foundation Twitter Feed

As always, there is more to come...

~3

Gummi Bears or Sprinkles? Life & Toppings

This morning I took in one of my favorite movies, Hot Shots! Part Deux, and I felt inspired. So I spent the next couple of hours ripping some images, photoshopping them and then converting them into this simple .gif animation. This is how I feel about life and toppings sometimes. Enjoy!

~3

Urban Impressions

My friend Adam Grogan commissioned me to paint him a piece for his new apartment in Albany, New York where he is moving to attend law school. He gave me a few guidelines; capture a city with yellows, blues, whites, and blacks. This is what he got. :) It's a 29" x 20" canvas painted with acrylic. I quite enjoyed making this piece, and the more I do this the faster the process goes. All and all I believe I put about 20 hours into this from concept to final product. I love watching a sketch of mine grow into something bigger and more meaningful. Adam loved the piece so much he let me take a picture of him with it. 

I realize I'm still using pretty bold colors in my paintings to create a since of friction and contrast, but sometimes it works. I think it may be time to start veering away from this theme, but I love bold colors so much. I attempted to capture the hustle and bustle of the city throughout the year by contrasting daylight and nightlight while adding a dizzying sense of ghosting layers, frenetic movement, and gritty textures. 

Urban Impressions in all it's frenetic glory. 

Adam ready for city life with new wall art for his new apartment. 

~3

Shoot Her!

So, while talking with my friend Chris I had the idea to make something. Something involving Muldoon's mouth and the phrase "Shoot Her!" After about 20 minutes of diddling around I pooped this out. Stare at it. Go on. Don't be shy. Notcie how the use of complimentary colors creates a stark contrast that fights with your eye. On top of that the contradictory gradients that I used in both the background and the text make that mouth pop. Don't believe me? Stare at it and move your head back and forth. You enjoy that. You earned it. 

This one's on me. 

"Clever girl"

~ 3

Star Wars Helmet Speak Series

So last year I started, and then earlier this year I finished, my Star Wars Helmet Speak series. This started out as just me fooling around with color mixing and technique with the first piece, "Vader", but after I finished it I felt the need for two more. When I settle into a project I always decide on a color scheme to use, and my handy dandy color wheel, knowledge of color theory, and general creativity always help in deciding a scheme. With the "Vader", and subsequently the other two, "Troopers" and "Fett", I used the same number of colors for each character with either one or two wild variations. After deciding on the colors I wanted to keep the essential shape of the well-known characters while attempting to distort them. Essentially I wanted people to see them differently. My original idea was to include speech bubbles with punctuation in them. However, after showing a piece without anything in the bubble to a few friends I noticed that they started filling in that speech bubble with their own words and thoughts. I've always wanted to find a way to interact with the audience, and this mechanic allowed the viewer to personalize each viewing of the pieces. Instantly I loved the idea, and left it. After finishing "Vader" I pushed through the "Troopers" and finished up with the "Fett". I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed making them.

All three pieces are acrylic on 16" x 20" canvases. These pieces are for sale. If you're interested please contact me. I am wanting to eventually have prints of these made. I was thinking either doing them individually or connected horizontally together with a background them tying them together. Thoughts?

"Vader"

"Troopers"

"Fett"

~3

Human Nature

A couple of weeks ago I finished a commission piece for a friend of mine. Nick came to me months ago and asked me to paint something for him. Of course, I said yes, but I had no idea what to do. Nothing. I was slowly slipping into a deeper depression at the time, and struggling for clarity and creativity. Finally in a moment of sunshine and lollipops an idea hit me, and I began working on it. 

I wanted to do a piece specifically for Nick. I wanted to capture some of the glory that he exudes. Nick is a fantastic guy. He's funny, he's friendly, and very protective of those that he loves. Like a fierce lion of sorts. He is also very disciplined physically. He has his black belt, and is looking to impart his skills and knowledge to eager students. Nick is young and brash, and I believe still searching for exactly what he wants in life just like a lot of people in this world. Like everyone in this world I believe we're all entangle with harmony, but never in tune with it.  

I wanted to capture the essence of Nick in a painting. Something bold. Something fun. Something displaying traits of how beautiful we all are, but also how we struggle from time to time. 

The piece I painted for Nick I call "Human Nature".

"Human Nature" - 24" x 48" Acrylic on canvas

After I presented it to him he insisted I have a beer and help him hang it. How could I refuse? Here's Nick after the celebratory hanging. 

Working on this commission piece for him was a fantastic experience. I was going through a lot during it, and I lost a lot because of my depression. However, there's always a silver lining somewhere, and I must say this was a pretty bright silver lining. 

If you're interested in an original piece by me for you then contact me, and let me work for you. :)

~3

The Piano Man

This piece has been months in the making. The cold weather, moving, and schedule clashes have all kept pushing back the completion of this collaboration. However, last night we finished it up. I sliced through the last of the stencils, and then we sprayed in the cold garage. 

I must say, I'm quite pleased with ourselves. Much like The Hunter, The Piano Man has surprised me in a most pleasant way. Dare I say it tickles me? Yes. Yes I will. It tickles me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. 

May I present to you The Piano Man by myself (3kalb) & Nick Teeter. 

This piece measures in at a whopping 36" x 48" inches and was created with acrylic and spray on canvas. 

Artistic angled on the floor being DIRTY shot!

Basking in the rays of glorious sunshine

~3

Friends Forever

So, as I mentioned previously I have spent the past two days conceiving, creating, and finishing a couple of projects for my amazing friends Brandon and Liz who recently moved to St. Louis. Treat 'em well, Louie!

For the Liz, who has the patience of a saint, I took a record and painted it. Then with a paint pen I transcribed the track list for a mix I made years ago that she had, but lost. I wanted to give this piece a personal touch from me so I opted to use my more often than not sloppy handwriting. Then I painted a record cover as the background and framed it all.

For the Brandon, I painted him a portrait of a cartoon version of him with acrylic and paint pen on a 16" x 20" canvas. I wanted to provide him, not only with some fun personal art, but something that he could use to market his stand up if needed. Find out more about Brandon Judd and his comedic stylings at http://www.juddgment.com.

Thanks for being awesome you two. I wish you great luck & fuck in St. Louis. I can't wait to see you again.

~3

Moving Ahead

I'm in the middle of packing for a move to Chicago, but I found some time today to cut out one of the stencils for the "Piano Man" piece Nick and I art working on. Our second heavy collaboration since "The Hunter".  I'm stoked about this piece. 

Here's a pic of the stencil I cut out laying on top of the canvas to be painted. 

Enjoy!

~3